Improved animal-trap



ROBERT ToMPKINs, or cLAnKsvrLLE, TENNESSEE.

Letters Patent No. 97,248, dated Norember 23, 1869.

IMPROVED ANIMAL-TRAP.

The Schedule referred toin the'SeVLettez-s Patent and making p'art of the same.

To all whom vit may concern Be itknown that I, ROBERT ToMrKINs, of C1arksville, in the county ot' Montgomery, and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Animal-Traps; and I do hereby declare` that the following is atull, clear, and exact description ot' the construction and ope 'ation of Vthe same, reference `being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part o f this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a transverse vertical section, and

Figure 2 is a side elevation.

rLhis invention consists of a cylinder lof wire netting, mounted-upon truunions, so as to easily revolve, having ahole at one end, for the'entrance of the victim, and near the other `end the hook holding the bait, the shank of which hook passes out ot' the cylinder, and forms a bent arm, at the end of a spring-wire, on the outside of the netting, which arm rest-s against a pin, projecting from the standard to which lthe cylinder is pivoted, and isl drawn away from such pin by the traction ot' the animal upon the bait, thus causing the weight of the animal to rotate thc cylinder, until such rotation is checked 'by a stop, 4at a point where an egress is afforded from themylindcr into a retaining-box, innnediz'ttely upon which ,egress of the animal the cylinder, relieved of its weight, rotates back to its original position, and is reset.

In the drawings- A is the cylinder, plvoted in standards a a.

The cylinder is divided, by longitudinal partitions a", into four compartments, into one of which the animal enters, through holes in the end of the partition, and in thc standard C is thc bait, suspended upon a hook, at the endv of the bent arm b, which forms part of the spring-arm b', titstened at one end to the outside of the cylinder, and bearing at the other end against a pin, b, projecting from the stainlard af.

vThe pull of the animal upon the bait draws the spring-arm 1) away from the pin b, whereupon the v weight ot' the animal causes the cylinder to revolve,

until it is brought to a stand by the striking of the rib c against the stop c' on the vstandard a.

This distance is just sutiicicntto bring the hole d, in the end of the cylinder, into correspondence with the hole Il' in the standard af, through which hole d the animal naturally passes.

On its leaving the cylinder, the latter at once rotates, by its own weight, back to its 'former position, opening the holes inthe end of the cylinder and standard a, so that another animal may en-ter.

- The. hole d opens into a retaining-box, 1), where the animals are kept prisoners until such time as their 

